It’s the end of an era: after 28 years, exotic French marque Bugatti is no longer a part of the Volkswagen Group.
Reuters reports that Volkswagen subsidiary Porsche, which in 2021 created a joint venture with Croatian supercar manufacturer Rimac to control Bugatti, has sold its 45 percent stake in the venture. Also sold is Porsche’s 20.6 percent stake in Rimac proper.
The forthcoming Bugatti Tourbillon
The stakeholdings haven’t gone to Rimac itself. Instead, the buyer is a consortium of venture capitalists, led by American firm HOF Capital.
Rimac does appear to be taking over management of Bugatti; the company’s founder, Mate Rimac, will become Bugatti’s managing director, and Rimac executive Marko Brkljačić will become its chief operating officer.
The sale nets Porsche about one billion euros, a quarter of which is earmarked for pension obligations.
The Tourbillon’s predecessor, the Chiron.
The money is much needed. The company’s sales in China have slumped, and after moving too quickly on electrification, Porsche has no petrol versions of its 718 sports car or – critically – its Macan mid-size SUV, surrendering substantial market share while a new petrol Macan, based on the Audi Q5, is hastily developed.
It’s unlikely the relationship between Porsche and Rimac will completely end. Rimac supplies the battery for Porsche’s T-Hybrid system, used in the 911 Carrera GTS and 911 Turbo.
It’s also understood the Volkswagen Group has sold some, but not all, of its stake in design firm Italdesign, founded by legendary industrial designer Giorgetto Giugiaro.
Bugatti version 4.0
Porsche’s, and therefore Volkswagen’s, divestment from Bugatti is the latest chapter in the iconic French carmaker’s storied history.
After first dying off in 1952, Bugatti was revived – and moved to its founder’s birthplace, Italy – by businessman Romano Artioli in 1987, only to go under again in 1995. The only car from the era was the radical EB110 supercar, with a mid-mounted quad-turbocharged V12 (412kW-450kW) and all-wheel drive.
The Bugatti Veyron
In 1998, the rights to Bugatti were bought by Volkswagen, who moved the company back to France. Under VW’s direction Bugatti set to work on the most powerful and fastest car ever made up to that point, the 736kW, 407km/h Veyron, which entered production in 2005.
Unusually for a low-volume supercar maker, Bugatti has been profitable in recent years, a sharp break from its past.
